Etymologically
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leaf

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /liːf/ (UK); /lif/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English lēaf (“leaf of a plant; page of a book”),[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *laubą,[2][3] cognate with Old Frisian lāf, Dutch loof, German Laub (“foliage”), Old Norse lauf and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍆𐍃 (laufs),[2][3][4] perhaps from PIE Proto-Indo-European *leub(h)- (“to peel off, strip”);[3][2] Hoad finds no certain cognates outside Germanic.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A leaf of a plant, and a page of a book: Old English, before 725 in Barnhart, about 825 in the OED.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Very thin sheets of metal, especially gold, are leaf from the late 14th century.[3] A hinged flap or extension of a table is from the 1550s.[3] The leaves of tobacco and of other plants used for smoking are from before 1618, and tea leaves follow.[6] To turn over a new leaf, to begin a better life, is from the 1590s (turn the leaf by the 1570s), from the book sense.[3] The verb, to put forth leaves, is from 1611, and to turn the pages of a book from the 1660s.[5][3]

Timeline

  • before 725 – a leaf; a page.[2]
  • late 14th century – gold leaf.[3]
  • 1550s – a table leaf.[3]
  • 1570s – turn the leaf.[3]
  • 1611 – the verb, to put forth leaves.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A flat, usually green part of a plant growing from a stem, which makes food by photosynthesis.
  2. A single sheet of a book, with a page on each side.
  3. Metal beaten into a very thin sheet: gold leaf.
  4. A hinged or removable section of a table.

Verb

  1. To turn over pages quickly, usually with through.
  2. To put out leaves.

Word family

  • leafless
  • leaflike
  • broadleaf
  • cloverleaf
  • copper-leaf
  • endleaf
  • fanleaf
  • flannel-leaf
  • leaflet
  • leafy
  • foliage
  • lodge
  • lobby

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press